What You Need to Know Today: February 3

Good afternoon, Early Risers!

Here’s what you need to know

TECH

Musk be a slow news day indeed. If you haven’t heard yet, Elon Musk is getting a lot of heat over cancelling one of his customer’s Tesla Model X pre-orders because of a “rude” open letter this customer published. The open letter bashes Tesla’s poorly run launch event of the Model X. I’m curious what you think about Musk’s reaction? Was it an overreaction? Hit reply to this email or leave a comment below telling us what you think.

CAREER

The cream always rises to the top. “The bet is simple: publish content where people are, rather than forcing them to come to you,” says Lucia Moses. There’s no denying BuzzFeed’s platform strategy is dominating but for this strategy to work, BuzzFeed must rely on publishing “viral” content — which BuzzFeed has mastered. But viral content is rarely what I would consider to be quality content (think: cat videos, listicles etc.) and therein lies the problem advertisers see with publishing on the platform BuzzFeed has created. Read more.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. “I was 15 minutes late by the time I arrived, disheveled and apologetic. Mr. Wilson was seated with eight young women at a square table set for 10. He is an imposing figure, 6 feet, 2 inches tall, with a large head shaved bald and the scruff of a beard. He stood and helped me off with my parka, an old-fashioned gentleman. When he rejoined his guests, all employed by Kit and Ace, he asked a question: What would happen if he were to arrive, say, 15 minutes late to a design meeting?” says Katherine Rosman of The New York Times. What happens next is hilarious but #true. Let’s just say you won’t see Elon Musk and Chip Wilson making dinner plans any time soon.

When your mailbox is full of sales pitches, it’s easy to ignore any email that looks like one, even when it might be presenting something you actually need.

It may seem counterintuitive, but flashy email titles aiming to get the person’s attention can actually cause an adverse effect. Steer clear of “Opportunity of a lifetime” or “I’m the candidate for you,” and go for something more simple and human.

Something like “Following up on our meeting,” or “It was great to meet you” are straightforward and practical titles that should at least get opened!

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Nick Papple is the Managing editor of Success Formula Daily and one of Early to Rise's youngest up and comers. Nick works closely with editor Craig Ballantyne, curating content, writing and editing essays for the daily newsletter. Nick has a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Kinetics from the University of Guelph in Canada. Ge...